My Comments: Like so many financial products, annuities come in a variety of forms that have surfaced over the years in attempts to both solve peoples financial problems and to make money for the companies offering them. As you can imagine, the spectrum along which any one of them can be judged is wide, with …
Continue reading The Basic Types of Annuities and How They Work
My Comments: I’ve written about the risks of being alive. Not having enough money in retirement is one of them. This article, featuring comments by Jana Greer, CEO of American International Group, a multinational finance and insurance corporation, can be interpreted as a sales pitch that you may or may not respond to. For me, …
Continue reading Retiring in a down market can mean 2/3 less money for rest of your life…
My Comments: We live where the economic model is capitalism. There is no fundamental economic incentive beyond making money for those who provide goods and services to the general public. From time to time, society has found it appropriate to create transparency or to regulate a level of transparency that effectively mitigates against financial abuse. …
Continue reading Small Fees Can Have A Big Impact On Retirement Accounts
My Comments: For the vast majority of us, mutual funds ( and sometimes ETFs) are the default financial tool when it comes to growing our money for the future. For about 100 years now, mutual funds have evolved and spread to become ubiquitous in the world of investing money. In my opinion, Vanguard, as a …
Continue reading How a 12-year Vanguard win streak makes it the ‘Amazon of wealth management’
In the wealth management fun house, how can average investors find somebody who will really work on their behalf? My Comments: My re-posting this article from Bob Veres reflects my cynical history with the investment advisory world that I’ve been a part of for over 30 years. It’s especially relevant in today’s world of financial …
My Comments: Very few of us are awash in money. And like it or not in 21st Century America, having more money is almost always better than having less money. If you own a small business or work for one, your future financial security is always in doubt. Criticize me if you will, but my …
Continue reading When it Comes to Retirement, Small Businesses Are Failing Their Employees
My Comments: While this was apparently written for Canadians, I assure you it is equally valid for those of us in the States. What you can never forget is that not every financial advisor or company offering investment products have your best interest at heart. That’s not to say fees are evil, they are not. …
Continue reading Here’s what fees can do to your retirement if you don’t pay attention
My Comments: Like everyone, I could use a crystal ball. Since they don’t exist, I have to turn to writers with a far better understanding of what’s going on than I have. To that end, these words from Larry Fuller are helpful. Fortunately, he avoids many of the big words that too many pundits use. …
My Comments: There are some well known market pundits out there whose advice can be taken seriously. But not always. We know historically stocks outperform most other kinds of traditional investments over time. That if you are accumulating money to use in the future, and that future is a few decades down the road, then …
My Comments: We know for a fact that very little in life is free. And that’s certainly the case with annuities. Add to that they’re hard to understand, and are often sold for reasons that are not always in the best interest of the buyer. None of that, however, means you shouldn’t consider annuities when …
Continue reading Equity-Indexed Annuities As a Retirement Strategy
Helping Define Your Financial Future 